A voice mail system linked to a communication system typically provides voicemail services for telephony devices and users serviced by the system. Generally, if a user fails to answer a call after a predetermined number of rings, a call manager will forward the call to the voice mail system. The voice mail system, upon receiving a message for the user, will inform the network, which in turn informs a telephony device associated with the user to provide a message waiting indication, such as a blinking light or pulsed dial tone on the telephony device. A user of the telephony device may then retrieve the voice message using the telephony device or another endpoint in the system.
Often important key phrases in the message, such as phone numbers and dates, are missed during the first retrieval of the message. As a result, the user must replay the message in its entirety to rehear those portions of the message that are particularly noteworthy. Prior systems allow users limited playback capabilities for skipping through a voice mail message. For example, some systems may allow a user to manually skip through the voice mail message at n-second intervals. Other systems may allow a user to replay the message in its entirety and adjust the speed of the voice mail delivery.